Several days ago, Tim and I hiked part of the Superior Hiking Trail in West Duluth. We walked several miles with good friends. They picked wild ramps along the way, filling up two zip lock bags. I chewed on several as we made our way along the trail. The taste was a combination of onion and garlic. They were going to make pesto out of the ramps they gathered.
To be honest I was more interested in the trillium that bloomed all around us than the ramps. I made Tim take lots of pictures of their beautiful white flowers. Hiking surrounded by trillium was worship for me. I felt myself filled with gratitude. I was also drawn to them because I knew the next day was Trinity Sunday. I found church on the trail surrounded by these pretty, three petaled flowers.
Trillium are deeply connected to one another by their rhizomes. A rhizome is the underground, horizontal stem. The rhizome stores food and pushes up new stems, leaves and buds. These beautiful white flowers that captured my attention had an underground connection to one another.
The next day, in addition to be Trinity Sunday, was also graduation Sunday. My last confirmation class of 10th graders are now all high school graduates. As part of confirmation, they wrote three papers for me, a God, Jesus, and a Holy Spirit paper. I found their papers stuffed in my brief case awhile back. That week I sent them graduation cards with their papers tucked inside. I thought it might be interesting for them to read what they thought a couple years back.
Their papers all spoke of connection. Connections to God and other people. We’re not so different from trillium, deeply connected in ways we cannot see. Excerpts from some of their papers are in the paragraphs that follow. Perhaps you too will find something in their words to chew on or be touched by their beauty.
God brings us together. God encourages us to be better people. God is love and love is God, and love is what holds us together. I often like to think of God as an unexplainable glue that holds the universe together.
God is to me is the solid ground beneath my feet. God’s voice asks which road you are going to take in life. And when the road is difficult remember that God is still with you. God is the solid ground that you walk on.
To me, God lives everywhere. I feel his presence on the cold fall days when I am on a walk, and the only thing I can hear is the sound of crunching. With every step, I can feel the presence of God surrounding me like a little kid being swaddled in a blanket. Although I am alone on the walk, I know that God is there with me.
When I think of Jesus, I seem him kneeling and giving a hand to a struggling loved one who has been ignored and left behind. I believe this image represents Jesus because Jesus makes sure everyone can get up and keep going. Jesus doesn’t like to leave people out or behind no matter who they are. I think this is a message that can be taken into our communities and radiate throughout to create a better community for all, no matter who you are or where you come from
When I think of Jesus I think of miracles. He can heal the sick and blind and even raise people from the dead. Jesus was the ultimate fishing guide when he got Peter on a catch of a lifetime. He can also feed over 5,000 people with only 5 loaves of bread and two fish. I too like a good fish fry, but he did it without even catching his limit. He can walk on water, calm storms, and turn water into wine. But the biggest miracle of all is the resurrection. This is the ultimate gift of love he has given us. This gives us peace, comfort, and hope that there is life after death. –
To me the Holy Spirit is the all-mighty bonding agent. It keeps our world and its inhabitants safe. It’s more of an otherworld being. If I’m having crummy day, I get inspired when I look up at the sky.
As long as the wind is blowing, the water is moving, and the streams are flowing, I know God is there. The Holy Spirit whispers to me with the wind, and the sound of the wind on the water speaks to me. God uses the Spirit to calm us, with all the sounds of nature. God uses the Holy Spirit to help us see and let ourselves be found.
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